Majority of IT Managers Planning for Windows Server 2008, Survey Says

Published: February 20, 2008

by Alex Woodie

A survey conducted for Internet computer retailer CDW found that 63 percent of IT decision makers are planning to implement Windows Server 2008, a good indicator for Microsoft and its new operating system.

CDW paid a company called Walker Information to conduct the first Windows Server 2008 Tracking Poll, along with the third Windows Vista Tracking Poll, during the first week of November. The group asked 772 IT decision makers a variety of questions about their views on the two operating systems, which corresponds with a statistical error rate of 3.5 percent.

The survey found that 45 percent of IT decision makers say their organization "eventually plans" to upgrade to Windows Server 2008, 14 percent already have a "tentative plan," 3 percent have a "detailed plan," and 1 percent have already started their implementation. By comparison, 37 percent of the respondents said they have no plans to upgrade to the new operating system.

When asked what Windows Server 2008 features are most attractive to their organizations, the respondents, which currently rely most heavily on Windows Server 2003 or Windows 2000 Server, said better security was the winner with a 49 percent response rate. Faster configurations, easier administration, and built-in virtualization all scored 35 percent or better. Among the biggest concerns that IT decision makers identified with Windows Server were bugs, software and hardware compatibility, and a lack of IT staff.

The survey also looked at any links in the user base between their implementation plans for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. Two-thirds of them said there was no link, while 22 percent of them said they planned to deploy Vista first. The uncoupling between Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 is a good thing for Microsoft, which has been disappointed with the adoption of Windows Vista, particularly in corporate accounts.

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